Handwriting difficulties in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Handwriting is crucial for academic success and daily functioning.
• Children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have handwriting difficulties, but research on speed is inconclusive.
• Previous studies have not fully examined handwriting under cognitive load relevant to classroom tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of working memory (WM) load on handwriting speed and legibility in children with ADHD.
• To compare the handwriting performance of children with ADHD and typically developing controls under simple and dual-task conditions.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 16 children with ADHD symptoms and 16 matched controls (fourth and fifth graders).
• Handwriting performance was assessed under simple conditions and during verbal or spatial working memory (WM) tasks.
• Key metrics included handwriting speed and legibility, along with intra-individual variability.

Main Results:

• Handwriting speed differed significantly between groups only under verbal WM load, with children with ADHD writing slower.
• Children with ADHD showed greater intra-individual variability in handwriting speed during the verbal WM task.
• Handwriting legibility was also negatively affected by the verbal WM load in the ADHD group.

Conclusions:

• Verbal working memory load specifically impairs handwriting speed and increases variability in children with ADHD.
• Cognitive demands, particularly those involving verbal processing, present significant challenges for handwriting in children with ADHD.
• Findings highlight the need for educational and clinical strategies to support handwriting in children with ADHD under demanding cognitive conditions.